Tag Archives: Bike hire in Pays de la Loire

The Mervent valley and surrounding area is fantastic if you are an energetic cyclist, with some of the toughest cycling areas that we have found in the Vendee!

We started our journey at the top of the valley with a coffee stop at ‘La Boheme’. The very welcoming owner, Maeve, showed us to the outside decked area overlooking the valley.

The views were breath taking to say the least!

The lake itself is vast and winds its way around Mervent.

You can hire electric boats, paddle boards, canoes and pedalos to explore the area from one of the many restaurants dotted along the side of the lake.

After our coffee stop, Maeve told us to take a short ride through the centre of the village to the old castle ruins for some great views. It is only a short ride and is situated behind the Maries office.

The views were fantastic! We also spotted a Dragon!

From the castle ruins, we cycled down to the bottom of the valley and crossed the bridge to the other side of the lake…

Whilst following the cycle path along the side of the lake, we passed a lot of people fishing. There is also a section of the bank that is dedicated to night fishing for Carp.

The cycle path runs along the side of the lake for quite a few miles and is very easy cycling…

That was the easy part of the route.

Next, we started to climb through the winding roads up into the forests. It is around 3 miles long to reach the dense forest with sheer drops on either side…

After a very long road climb, we were presented with our next challenge!!

This is where the track separates the men from the boys…

There are various tracks and climbs throughout the forested area but be warned, these are really steep and should only be attempted if you ready for a challenge.

After all that hard work, we felt like we had earned a good rest and a bite to eat, so we returned to ‘la Boheme’ restaurant.

The menu at the restaurant is very good and very reasonably priced. If you are in the area, we would really recommend it.

Both washed down with a glass Cote du Rhone. Followed by a lemon tart and coffees. All for around 35 euros.

Explore the Mervent Valley by bike…

If you are visiting the Vendee this year and plan to cycle around the Mervent area, let us take the worry out of your bike hire. We can supply everything that you need. Plus, we deliver and collect your bikes at your accommodation free of charge.

Experience a day in the life of a Bike Hire Direct bike with this ‘bike-eye’ view of a bike ride in the Loire Valley!

Many thanks to the Kerr family for letting us share their holiday fun… they hired bikes from Steve and Julie at the Bike Hire Direct Vendee team:

“We had a great time on our first touring trip in France. It was easy to make arrangements for pickup and dropoff of the bikes and Julie and Steve were very accommodating. There were no issues with any of the bikes or equipment which were in great condition.”